As the summer of 2025 fades into fall, and the trees turn from green to a lovely red, orange and yellow, you might be feeling the call of the road. After all, when is there a better time for a scenic road trip? Fall offers an American beauty not overcooked by summer heat or made uncomfortably icy and slick by wintertime.

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That said, various states offer so many potential road trips and routes, at varying lengths and gas costs, it may be hard to decide just where to point your car. To help you on your journey, GOBankingRates recently analyzed some of the most popular scenic routes in America, compiling both their lengths and the cost to drive them.

Curious about the cost of a multi-state journey down the famed Route 66? Or would you prefer a single-state trip through northern California, or the Florida Keys, or a gorgeous ride through Alaska? GOBankingRates has 30 options for nearly any scenic road trip preference you might have.

Also see scenic drives that are perfect for retirees and the toll costs to know.

monkeybusinessimages / iStock.com

monkeybusinessimages / iStock.com

Key Findings:

  • The longest, most expensive route is in a single state: Alaska’s 3,500-mile Marine Highway interconnects over 30 very remote communities along the state’s coastline, providing a very necessary throughway for travel and commerce in a state where such travel can be dangerous and difficult.

  • The shortest and cheapest route still packs in a lot of scenery: The City of Las Vegas Boulevard provides an ample look at the sights and sounds (along with prime people-watching) in Sin City.

  • Only one scenic road traverses more states than the famous Route 66: The Great River Road journey will take you through a whopping 10 states.

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stanley45 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

stanley45 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Alaska Marine Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $547.66

  • Length of trip: 3,500 miles

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Nick Fox / Shutterstock.com

Nick Fox / Shutterstock.com

Historic Route 66

  • States: Arizona, California, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico and Oklahoma

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $247.89

  • Length of trip: 2,041 miles

AngiePhotos / Getty Images

AngiePhotos / Getty Images

Great River Road

  • States: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnestoa, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Wisconsin

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $232.60

  • Length of trip: 2,069 miles

Cascade Loop National Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $63.45

  • Length of trip: 440 miles

Pgiam / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pgiam / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Blue Ridge Parkway

  • States: North Carolina and Virginia

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $49.86

  • Length of trip: 469 miles

Fredlyfish4 / Shutterstock.com

Fredlyfish4 / Shutterstock.com

Natchez Trace Parkway

  • States: Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $48.72

  • Length of trip: 444 miles

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Chesapeake Country

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $44.26

  • Length of trip: 419 miles

marekuliasz / Getty Images

marekuliasz / Getty Images

Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $33.41

  • Length of trip: 272 miles

Lisa-Blue / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Lisa-Blue / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Creole Nature Trail

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $19.95

  • Length of trip: 180 miles

ChrisBoswell / iStock.com

ChrisBoswell / iStock.com

Seward Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $19.87

  • Length of trip: 127 miles

JMichl / Getty Images

JMichl / Getty Images

North Shore Scenic Drive

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $18.29

  • Length of trip: 154 miles

miroslav_1 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

miroslav_1 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Scenic Byway 12

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $14.13

  • Length of trip: 123 miles

Phitha Tanpairoj / Shutterstock.com

Phitha Tanpairoj / Shutterstock.com

Big Sur Coast Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $12.44

Action Sports Photography / Shutterstock.com

Action Sports Photography / Shutterstock.com

Savannah River Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $12.38

  • Length of trip: 110 miles

photosvit / iStock.com

photosvit / iStock.com

Florida Keys Scenic Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $11.61

  • Length of trip: 106 miles

Douglass Clem / Flickr.com

Douglass Clem / Flickr.com

San Luis Obispo North Coast

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $11.05

gustavofrazao / iStock.com

gustavofrazao / iStock.com

Historic Columbia River Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $9.98

franckreporter / Getty Images

franckreporter / Getty Images

Beartooth Highway

  • States: Montana and Wyoming

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $9.49

krblokhin / Getty Images/iStockphoto

krblokhin / Getty Images/iStockphoto

The High Road to Taos

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $9.24

Dmitri Kotchetov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Dmitri Kotchetov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ka’u — The Slopes of Mauna Loa Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $8.37

Jill_InspiredByDesign / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Jill_InspiredByDesign / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Old King’s Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $7.03

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Selma to Montgomery March Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $5.99

Pavliha / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pavliha / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Utah’s Patchwork Parkway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $5.86

MargaretW / Getty Images/iStockphoto

MargaretW / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Trail Ridge Road

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $5.65

Allard1 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Allard1 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Acadia

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $4.81

Danielle Schreier / iStock.com

Danielle Schreier / iStock.com

Kancamagus Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $4.11

  • Length of trip: 34.5 miles

scott conner / Shutterstock.com

scott conner / Shutterstock.com

Route 1 Scenic Highway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $2.31

  • Length of trip: 19.35 miles

abarndweller / Flickr.com

abarndweller / Flickr.com

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $0.93

  • Length of trip: 7.4 miles

©Shutterstock.com

©Shutterstock.com

Red Rock Scenic Byway

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $0.93

  • Length of trip: 7.5 miles

lewkmiller / Getty Images

lewkmiller / Getty Images

City of Las Vegas Boulevard

  • Average cost of gas for trip: $0.45

  • Length of trip: 3.4 miles

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed some of the most popular routes in the United States to find the average cost in gas to drive along them. GOBankingRates sourced the most popular driving routes from Travel+Leisure’s “America’s Most Scenic Roads,” “Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway,” “North Shore Drive with Fall Colors” and “Red Rock Scenic Byway Named Most Distracting.” The mileage for each route was sourced from National Scenic Byway Foundation’s list of America’s Byway Collection. The average price of regular gas was sourced from AAA’s Avg Gas Cost by State. The average miles per gallon was sourced from iSeeCars study of average MPG by state in 2024. Using the average mpg, the average cost of gas in each state and each route’s total milage, the average cost of gas to drive each road was calculated. The routes were sorted to show the most expensive routes first. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 10, 2025.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much It Costs To Drive 30 Scenic Roads Across America



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